Embracing the Unusual: Michal Sklar’s Unique Skill

At 16, Michal Sklar experienced a grand mal seizure that left her anxious about her health. Yet, she found herself with an unexpected skill, which she humorously refers to as “the most useless superpower.” Despite many years since, Sklar clearly recalls the day before her 17th birthday in October 2010. Residing in New York, she was set to speak at her high school assembly. She stood up to introduce the speaker, sat down, and then woke up in the hospital.

“The seizure was idiopathic. Even now, no one knows the cause,” Sklar, now 32, shared. “I spent almost a week in the hospital for various tests, including an EEG and an MRI. Despite being under close medical observation for months, none of the tests explained the incident.”

During her hospital stay, Sklar noticed she was mentally reversing words. Initially, she ignored it, but it became clear she could process everything her doctors and nurses said in reverse.

“At first, it scared me. I had just undergone a major medical episode, and my brain was now reversing words,” she explained. Being a language enthusiast, this new skill amplified her passion. She would wake up with Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” in her head—but backwards.

Seizure activity can impact language functions, disrupting how people process words. Some epilepsy-related conditions enhance these changes. The epilepsy-aphasia spectrum, as described by MedlinePlus Genetics, involves seizure-related speech, reading, and writing impairments. When seizures affect the left temporal lobe, individuals may struggle with word retrieval and naming.

Sklar hesitated to reveal this skill at first. She confided in a friend who, though baffled, thought the skill was amazing. Gradually, she shared it with her family, who humorously found it fitting for her.

“I didn’t tell the doctors initially because there were bigger concerns, like understanding the seizure’s cause,” Sklar admitted. “It became part of who I am. Unfortunately, when I finally mentioned it to my neurologist, she dismissed it. I demonstrated my reverse reading with papers from her desk, but she wasn’t interested.”

Sklar can reverse words in a sentence swiftly. For example, “hi, I’m Michal, and it’s such an honor to be featured in Newsweek” turns into “iH, m’I lahciM, dna s’ti hcus na ronoh ot eb derutaef ni keewsweN.” She has dubbed this new language “sdrawkcab.” Everyday words come easily, though longer words take more time, and “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” remains a challenge.

Sklar takes pride in her intriguing skill, often using it as an icebreaker. Her 7-year-old son repeatedly calls it “the coolest thing” to brag about to friends. She and her husband even use sdrawkcab in their couples’ language, saying “snoops” for spoons, “pots” for stop, and “doog thgin” for good night.

Though considered “the most useless superpower,” Sklar and her family find it immensely entertaining. She aims to inspire others to embrace their uniqueness. Through her social media presence, particularly on TikTok as @momentsofmichal, she shares her experience as a backwards speaker, much to the delight of her audience.

“The brain’s ability to adapt and create a new language processing method amazes me, and occasionally still unnerves me,” Sklar said.

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Reach out to Newsweek editors about this topic: Charlotte Nisbet and Emma Lee-Sang.